chazz

In July we'll be visiting Padre Island for the first time.

Is there any snorkeling from shore in that area?

Where are the best swimming beaches?

Any problem with "sea lice" at that time of year?

Any advice is appreciated!

(We don't need accommodations - will be staying nearby with relatives).

BNuts

July is a low point in the season for S. Padre (except for the 4th, of course); all of the snowbirds have returned to the Northeast and the 100,000 Spring Breakers have been gone since March. This is great news for families and bad news for young singles. Snorkeling near shore, I'm not sure. Sediment from the Mississippi River as well as the Rio Grande (which empties a mile from s. padre)churn up the water near the shore pretty good. However, the Laguna Madre north of s. padre has no rivers emptying into it and protection from the Gulf. Thus, in Port Mansfield you can charter a boat and get very good water conditions to scuba dive in. Also, you can go offshore 7 miles to a wreck where the water is good. I believe you have to be a licensed scuba diver, though. Best swimming beaches? I know during Spring Break, I would easily tell you to go to the area around the Radisson. Off-season, I don't know. But I would still say around this area. Seaweed will be present in large quantities sometimes; so the sea lice might be, too. but the hotels (or the city, I don't know) do a good job of cleaning the beaches each morning.

Not

Which end of the island -- North or South?-- We drove from San Antonio to Corpus Christi last year. I have one word, okay maybe two, to describe North Padre Island B-O-R-I-N-G and U-G-L-Y! The only thing there is a wharf, not-so-pretty miles of beach and miles of asphalt for parking.

BNuts

the N. Padre island comment reminded me of s/t I would like to do in the future. From Corpus, you can drive all the way down Padre Island National Seashore to the most remote, virgin beaches left in the United States. If I had a group of guys or a family interested in camping, I'd do it in a heartbeat. 4 wheel drive a must.

travellyn

I lived near SPI for 5 years as a teenager, so I'll give this one a shot:

South Padre Island is one long beach, so it doesn't really have more than a couple of individually named beach areas. The jetties area (at the south end where the channel cuts through the island) is known for rip tides at times. North of town, past the developed road, cars drive along the beach. There are fewer people on the beach in that area, but I always used to worry that a car would come roaring along and hit me.

Since the beach along the developed part of the island is so long (a few miles), it doesn't usually get really crowded. We used to park at the Hilton, then wander along the beach till we found a place to set our things.

I never thought of SPI as a place to snorkel, because the water is so turbid, and I'm not aware of any reefs nearby. I don't even know what sea lice are.